Checkpoints and Patrols Planned in Payne County

Oklahoma Department of Public Safety sent this bulletin at 05/01/2019 08:15 AM CDT

Checkpoints and Patrols Plannedin Payne County

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be joined by the Payne County Sheriff's Office, Stillwater Police Department, Oklahoma ABLE Commission, and the Oklahoma State University Police Department to conduct two checkpoints and several high-visibility patrols this week.

The 28th annual "Calf Fry" music festival is set to kick off on Thursday evening. The ENDUI partners will also hit the street that evening to conduct a high-visibility patrol to catch impaired drivers.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, the ENDUI team will be joined by five other agencies to conduct checkpoints. These checkpoints will be set up in NW Stillwater and will run for several hours.

FOR RELEASE

April 30, 2019

MEDIA CONTACT

In 2017, three people were killed and 27 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Payne County. This year, we want that number to be zero. That's why ENDUI and the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) have teamed up with the organizers of the Calf Fry to offer an alternative ride home.

Three shuttle buses will run between the Tumbleweed and downtown Stillwater starting at 5 p.m. and ending well after the concert each night.

The media is invited to attend this checkpoint to help us raise awareness about the impaired driving problem in Oklahoma. Interviews with members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be available. To coordinate times, locations, and interviews, please email Cody.McDonell@dps.ok.gov.

"MADD is proud to work with the OHSO on the upcoming sobriety checkpoint, and we are grateful for their efforts to catch drunk drivers and deter those who might need a reminder to never drink and drive," said victim advocate volunteer Melissa Brandon with MADD Oklahoma.

"Research shows that checkpoints are effective in lowering drunk driving deaths by 20 percent, and we know from our law enforcement partners that this lifesaving drunk driving countermeasure also works to stop drivers who are impaired by other drugs. The message these checkpoints sends is clear: if you drive impaired, you will get caught. Publicizing these events also serves as a reminder to anyone whose plans include alcohol to always plan for a non-drinking driver to get you home safely."

Everyone is highly encouraged to find a safe ride by calling a sober driver, using a cab, Uber, Lyft or any other ride-share service. Better yet, have a designated driver. Have fun and enjoy life, but do not, under any circumstances, drive while impaired by alcohol or any other substance. The cost is too high. Let’s ENDUI.

The ENDUI enforcement team coordinates multi-jurisdictional events on a regular basis, including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. These efforts are needed to impact Oklahoma’s impaired driving problem across the state. The locations of these activities are driven by data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and by local request.

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The ENDUI Oklahoma program is a program of the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and is funded through impaired driving grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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